The Missouri Western men suffered their worst loss of the season falling 105-69 against the #22 Missouri Southern Lions. The Lions scored over 50 points in both halves as the Griffons fall to 8-10 overall and 3-7 in MIAA play.
The only lead for the Griffons in the opening half came at 3-0 after a Hans Thun three pointer opening the scoring. The Lions then went on a 14-2 run claiming a 9 point lead after a dunkn by Jordan Talbert. The Lions extended its lead to 10 before the Griffons used a 12-5 run cutting the Missouri Southern lead to 29-26 after a Wes Mitter layup with 7:48 to play.
The Griffon offense struggled the rest of the half scoring just four points to the Lions 25. The Lions used a 19-0 run claiming a 48-26 lead with 2:31 to play after a three point play from Cameron Cornelius.
The Griffons had seven players score in the half as Dzenan Mrkaljevic led the charge with eight points off the bench. He also had five rebounds. The Griffons made just 31.6-percent (12-38) from the field and 4-of-12 from long range. The Griffons were outrebounded 25-16 by the Lions but did have 10 offensive rebounds to MSSU’s eight.
The Lions shot the lights out in the half making 59.3-percent (16-27) from the field and 85.7-percent (6-7) from long range. The also made 16-of-23 free throws. Greg Renfroe led the charge with 13 points while Jordan Talbert had seven rebounds.
The second half did not get any better for the Griffons as they got outscored 51-38. The Lions improve to 14-3 on the season and 8-2 in MIAA play.
Four Griffons scored in double figures with Ryan Devers leading the charge with 14 points. Mrkaljevic and Kalvin Balque finished with 12 while Charlie Marquardt pitched in 11. The Griffons shot 39.7-percent (25-63) from the field and just 57.1-percent (16-28) from the free throw line. The Griffons got out boarded 42-23 but did have 12 offensive rebounds to the Lions 11.
The Lions shot outstanding in the game making 68-percent (34-50) from the field and 72.7-percent (8-11) from long range. The also made 29-of-40 free throw attempts. Five Lions scored in double figures with Renfroe scoring 28 points on 10-of-12 shooting and making 8-of-9 free throws. Talbert led the charge on the boards with eight rebounds. He also had six assists and five blocked shots.
The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, January 29 when they take on the Lincoln Blue Tigers at 7:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
— MWSU Sports Information —